Rather than give a 30 minute presentation like I did for Price, I was asked to sit on a faculty panel and discuss the “The Benefits and Challenges of Teaching in the Digital World.” This was one of the most humbling experiences of my career because both people on the panel (David Tarpenning and Robert Kerr) as well as the moderator (Ralph Beliveau) are not only my former professors but arguably the three most influential. Ralph was my first professor in Gaylord and taught Intro to Mass Communications. I’ve always had an appreciation for his intellect and sense of humor. The guy can spout more deep and sound thoughts faster than anyone of I’ve ever met. I liked him so much I actually elected to have him a second time. :smile:

David Tarpenning was one of the first to really show me what it was like to care and have compassion for his students. Few people invest in students the way that Tarpenning does. And, while it was in his class that I decided I was probably going to never be an agency type of guy (I’ve always wanted to work on the organization side), I read one of my favorite books, Confessions of an Ad Man by David Ogilvy.

Last, Robert Kerr, who taught my Media Law course, was the first professor I saw integrate student-created media into the classroom. Even a decade ago, his lectures were littered with videos that had been produced by students in former semesters. The guy is so committed to making law seem interesting to students and for that I’m am forever grateful. :smile:

So, yeah, let’s me reiterate how humbling it is to be settling next to three of your undergraduate idols. Below is a video of my remarks during the panel (my comments start at the 23:55 mark).

Rather than give a 30 minute presentation like I did for Price, I was asked to sit on a faculty panel and discuss the “The Benefits and Challenges of Teaching in the Digital World.” This was one of the most humbling experiences of my career because both people on the panel (David Tarpenning and Robert Kerr) as well as the moderator (Ralph Beliveau) are not only my former professors but arguably the three most influential. Ralph was my first professor in Gaylord and taught Intro to Mass Communications. I’ve always had an appreciation for his intellect and sense of humor. The guy can spout more deep and sound thoughts faster than anyone of I’ve ever met. I liked him so much I actually elected to have him a second time.

David Tarpenning was one of the first to really show me what it was like to care and have compassion for his students. Few people invest in students the way that Tarpenning does. And, while it was in his class that I decided I was probably going to never be an agency type of guy (I’ve always wanted to work on the organization side), I read one of my favorite books, Confessions of an Ad Man by David Ogilvy.

Last, Robert Kerr, who taught my Media Law course, was the first professor I saw integrate student-created media into the classroom. Even a decade ago, his lectures were littered with videos that had been produced by students in former semesters. The guy is so committed to making law seem interesting to students and for that I’m am forever grateful.

So, yeah, let’s me reiterate how humbling it is to be settling next to three of your undergraduate idols. Below is a video of my remarks during the panel (my comments start at the 23:55 mark).

A brief summary of my thoughts are as follows:

1. This is an exciting time for media because of digital.

Counter to the rhetoric that we’ve been hearing since 2008, I actually think this is a great time for media, most of which can be attributed to the growth in social media and smart phones. More and more I have access to really great journalism, some of which will never make a print edition of anything. There’s real tangible growth now in digital-only news organizations. According to the Pew Research Center’s State of the Media 2014, thirty of the largest digital-only news organizations account for about 3,000 jobs. Buzzfeed has a reporting staff of 170 and Mashable has 70 jobs. If these are the organizations where the news departments are growing, these are the jobs our students should be competing for and we need to embed them in these environments now. This wil really require a rethinking of our classroom experience and it should really challenge, at a minimum, the medium in which we assign students to read texts. Tools like hypothes.is make me really excited about bringing conversation around any article hosted anywhere.

2. Digital allows us to consider learner-centered classrooms.

This was the main thesis of my talk in March, so I’m not going to rehash too much here, but online/digitally-enhanced courses add a wrinkle that requires us as instructors to move the focus off of ourselves and onto the student engagement. This point was articulated very well by David Tarpenning during the panel and his efforts towards creating an active learning environment for his Introduction to Mass Communications course.

3. Digital is a massive component of lifelong learning.

We need to acknowledge that the four years we have the students at the institution is not enough to teach them all the skills necessary for the workforce. Rather, we need to focus on teaching the foundational knowledge and then give students opportunity within our own courses to understand how to learn beyond the institution (or create more opportunities for them to engage beyond their tenure). The College of Journalism is teaching future workers of a still-being-redefined industry. Our job should be to prepare students to continually prepare themselves. “Lifelong learner” is a mindset (not a demographic).

Again, thanks to the Gaylord College for the holding the event and an even bigger thank for live streaming/archiving it. I now get a digital copy of the time Robert Kerr comparing me to Bruce Springsteen:

In 1974, a writer for Rolling Stone went to a little club in New Jersey and then he wrote in the next issue he said, “I’ve seen the future of rock and roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen.” … When I look at Adam today, and I see what he is doing, and I think, “What is the future of digital education?” I think it looks something like Adam Croom.

I mean, come on. Your former professor comparing you to The Boss! I’ve died and gone to Heaven (though I think it also means I have nothing left to accomplish). So I’ll go now and bask in that comment for awhile.